Restoration of Sam Po Temple

The Sam Po Temple was left abandoned for years and most of its relics were lost over time. So far, the oldest extant relic is an age-old plaque dated back to the reign of Emperor Xianfeng of Qing dynasty (1850-1861).

　　The Cultural Institute of Macao had restored the Sam Po Temple to give it a brand new look. Nowadays, the Temple has a glass-roofed side hall to its right and left of to make visible the towering rock behind it, which is evidently a component part of the temple structure. The Tou Tei Temple of Patane district, Tin Hau Temple at Rua dos Pescadores and the Kun Iam Small Temple of Taipa are of the same architectural layout.

Allegedly, Sam Po was the third elder sister of Tin Hau (Goddess Mazu, the Celestial Empress), who was the fifth daughter of the family. And according to the General Records of Xiangshan County, “Sam Po is a deity worshipped by the fishing households and boat people; allegedly, it is a deity from Huizhou (city of Guangdong province)”.